Bouchon Bakery Pumpkin Macaron: On my recent visit to Las Vegas, there seem to be Bochon Bakeries at every corner of my hotel. As I previously enjoyed pistachio macarons at their NYC locations, I decided to try their seasonal pumpkin flavor. The autumnal macaron is about the size of my palm and has a vivid orange shell that easily breaks to reveal a chewy, dark brown interior. Texturally, this pastry was very good, but it was unfortunately overly sweet on the whole. 3.0/5.0
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Vif Babka: Heated until the chocolate glistens, this slice of babka was more toast than cake but otherwise had a nice spiced flavor. Portion size is just right for it to be a rich but not too heavy breakfast. Purchased at a small cafe / wine shop in the Fremont district of Seattle, there they offer brunch on weekends and small pastries throughout the week. 3.0/5.0
seattle pastry chocolate vif babka 3.0
Dough Donuts Blood orange donut: Brooklyn Donut shop Dough Donuts serves ginormous donuts with vibrantly colored glazes. This blood orange donut came with a candied slice of blood orange. Brioche-based dough makes the donuts neither light and fluffy nor overly dense - somewhat middling as far as small-batch donuts go. Blood orange glaze was very sugary but had a decent citrus flavor. Best part was definitely the candied slice, with its sharp tart flavor. 3.0/5.0
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Mr. Holmes Bakehouse Apple and marscarpone cruffin: In LA on Larchmont, Mr. Holmes Bakehouse looks like just a regular pastry shop: no lines, a modest storefront, and a few nicely presented seasonal options. Both cruffin flavors (maple and beer and apple and marscarpone) were available, with seemingly no particular demand. We tried the apple and marscarpone muffin and donut hybrid, which stood tall and was dusted in sugar. The flavor of the apple filling was nicely spiced and textured like applesauce, and the exterior pastry struck me as more... (read more) 3.0/5.0
pastry donut muffin la mrholmesbakehouse apple marscarpone cruffin 3.0
Gjusta Lemon Cake: This slice of lemon cake from Gjusta in LA is thickly sliced and has a decently tart flavor. Texturally, though, it eats a bit dry. In the landscape of lemon desserts, this one falls somewhere in the middle - not bad, but not particularly notable. 3.0/5.0
losangeles pastry dessert gjusta lemon cake 3.0
Dominique Ansel Bakery Peach Creme Fraiche Mousse Cake: This teardrop-shaped dessert consists of a lemon cake with peach compote, all covered in a thin shard of pink-striped chocolate. It had a sharp, acidic flavor, and technically, the cake was soft and moist. But I couldn't help but wonder what exactly this dessert was trying to accomplish. While I hadn't had anything like it before, I wouldn't say it was particularly satisfying; it exists in its own world that's not quite delicious, yet not really challenging enough to stay in my memory. 3.0/5.0
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